The Wonderful Wonder World of UtaPri!
by Mythia-san
Summary: Nanami Haruka left Japan along with her brother Ringo at a young age to escape from people who are hunting her whole family down. Together, they escape to America. One day, it just so happened that she became Alice and had fallen down the rabbit hole, curtesy to a certain white rabbit. Alice, beware of the horrors and excitements of The Other World, "UtaPri"! [Haruka/Everyone] (AU)
1. Prologue: I Can't Go Back to Yesterday

**Updated Author's Note (as of May 19 2016):**

**Alright, let me begin by saying that _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ as smitten me. My writing life practically _revolves_ around this beautiful literature novel. So naturally, it bled into my fanfiction for the Uta no Prince-sama fandom, and, well. Two years ago, this fanfic existed.**

**I've written many chapters ahead, but never posted it. Why? Well, in all honesty, I kind of hated them. I was baffled at the time at why I was obsessed with "Alice in Wonderland" things. I even had my room painted with checkered walls and red accents. A Cheshire Cat plushy was on my bed, and a Mad Hatter's hat was on the table. _Yeah._ I know. So I tried to breathe and thought I deleted them.**

**But I never deleted the chapters written.**

**Recently, I edited them a lot and found Wonderland's appeal once more. I'm not quite as obsessed with it now (I think), but I do enjoy the madness. Don't you?**

_**(NOTE: For those who have read the first posted draft, you don't need to read Chapter One unless you'd like a refresher.)**_

**Disclaimer: Any references the reader finds and the characters used in this story do not belong to me. This fanfic is a non-profit, unofficial story that's written for the sake of improvement and for the reader's enjoyment. :)**

* * *

Prologue

I Can't Go Back to Yesterday

_"I don't understand! Mikaze-san! What – what's happening to me?"_

_ The Conscious would've seemed emotionless, if it weren't for the sinister grin on the white mask he wore. "I'm sorry, Alice Liddell. Or should I say… Haruka?"_

_ "You! – You knew my name?"_

_ "We all did. But Wonderland isn't a place to frolic around and toy without a care. It is a game. It was your game. **And you lost**."_

_ "B-But – Mikaze-san! Please, don't do this!" pleaded Haruka. "I – I don't know what to do!"_

_ "Your journey ends now, Haruka," whispered Mikaze in the girl's ear, causing her to jump. The rusted chains bound to her body reacted and sent jolts of pain and imprisonment, like a snake coiling around its prey tighter. "You've lost already. Those who lose don't live long in Wonderland, you know."_

_ The other figures of Wonderland shone before Haruka, scowling and turning away from her. But with the masks, they all seemed to mock at her with their smiles. "Please help me!" she frantically cried, not caring if she looked pathetic in the slightest._

_ "Why should we?" they all questioned in unison, as if they despised her. Though the masks gave off a different, unsettling look._

_ "I – Please! I really need someone—!"_

_ "You won't have to anymore, Haruka… never. Good night." The Conscious smirked, and then, with his Outsider dagger in hand, he raised it above his head, plunging it down to—_

* * *

Nanami Haruka bolted upright. She screamed, her hair disheveled and her hands covering her ghostly-pale face. Tsukimiya Ringo, her half-brother, practically kicked the door down and rushed to her side.

"_Alice_!" he shouted, grabbing ahold of her unusually pasty cheeks. "Are you all right?"

Haruka, panting, tried to calm her heart, breathing deeply. _It was all a dream as usual_, she repeated in her mind, as the smell of sweat filled her nose. _It always feels real, but surely I can tell by now that they're never real—_

She coughed and grasped Ringo's shirt, leaning her face to his chest and inhaling his scent in attempts to reassure herself. "It was just a dream. I'm okay, Ringo-nii-san," she whispered, causing Ringo to widen his eyes for a moment before bunching his lips up and bristling.

"… Okay, first of all." He lifted a manicured finger up, crinkling his brow, hoping Haruka would get amused quickly. "Don't call me 'Ringo-nii-san.' It's _sister_, all right? And second of all, Alice, we're in America now. You must use English names, meaning I'm Lorena."

Haruka frowned. "Ringo-nii-san, you're a boy. And boys don't wear girl clothes—"

"What did I say about commenting about those things?" Ringo sternly questioned with a glare that made Haruka shut her mouth.

She was actually trying not to laugh. It felt almost inappropriate.

"It's for work, okay? Boss said that I looked good as a girl and that I could attract customers more like this—"

"But you look handsome as a boy as well…"

"—and here we are, pretty much a bit richer than middle-class people," he finished, huffing.

"In Japan," Haruka quietly added.

"I heard you," Ringo muttered with a small, breathy chuckle, leaning back, before suddenly jerking forward between Haruka's eyes. "But honestly, do I look better as a boy? Huh? Do I?"

Haruka nodded. "You really do, Ringo-nii-san."

"That – that's not the point Alice," sighed Ringo, retracting his body again and running a hand through his short, peachy hair. He really was attractive in either gender.

Haruka mentally swatted away those thoughts and mumbled, "It's Haruka though."

"No," he insisted, clearly hearing her small voice, "it's Alice now."

"But—"

"No buts about it," interrupted the cross-dresser, his feminine hand halting in front of Haruka's face. When he saw the look in her eyes, his expression softened, as he gently took her soft hands in his. _They're cold, _he thought, as he turned them over silently_._

"Nii-san?"

"Ah, right," Ringo thought aloud, shaking his head. "Alice, for God's sake, are you okay? Did you have a nightmare again?"

Haruka did not wish to speak of it, since the dreams had been continuous. Whenever she slept, she'd just pick up right when the dream stopped. For this reason, she secretly disliked sleeping and tried to read or distract herself to stay awake. They were futile attempts however, as they softly lulled her to inevitable sleep.

"Alice?" No response. He sighed again. "_Haruka._"

"Ringo-nii-san," she spoke up suddenly, surprising Ringo, "I don't remember what happened in my nightmare, so I don't think I can properly explain it to you." Haruka lied in her sentence (something more often done recently), the dreams scorched in her memory.

Ringo sighed once more because of two things: he couldn't help her more than just telling her sweet nothings, and that she called him by "Ringo-nii-san."

"Alice," he slowly started, "you know you can't say my name in public. We need to be more secretive and get used to our lives now. Be grateful I didn't make you cross-dress either, and that only Boss knows about how we lived in Japan."

Haruka faltered, rubbing her pale arm. "I – I know," she whispered, her eyesight blurring out. No tears fell past her cheek, but it felt like an abrupt conflict forming in her eyes.

"Now, I'm aware of your disliking to adapting to all of this, but we don't have a better option than this. We're abundantly _blessed_ here, with a house and more than enough needs compared to before. We don't ever truly starve, or wonder where we must go anymore…"

His voice tuned out in Haruka's mind, as the memories came back in blinding flashes like cameras, except in an extremely exposing way. Each word tingled her skin uncomfortably, and each phrase triggered an image. She shivered and shook her head rapidly, signifying him to stop.

Ringo's voice seemed to hiccup, as he searched in her eyes for the reminder of torment. This wasn't to scare her, nor was it for her to be aware of what they had now. It was for her to more forward once more.

"Alice… I'll remind you once more." He leaned forward and moved his sister's bangs with his thumb, his other fingers on her head, as he kissed her forehead chastely. He pulled back with a small smile. "We must try to move forward. If it helps, try to forget. Pretend you were 'Alice Liddell' all along, like me."

"… But what if I can't?" she barely whispered, her eyes lifting up to meet the blueness of Ringo's stare. His forehead could practically bump with hers, but he was playing with her short, sunset-orange rose hair, stroking it between his slender fingers.

"You must find a way that'll help you, then," he supplied. "Did you think it was easy for me? Well, sweetie, it wasn't. But you know? For one thing, I have to be the dependable one for now as you finish school. Therefore, I must be the person you can look up to. Second, our parents wouldn't want us to be tied down and unhappy with the circumstances just because of what has happened to us in the past. So do it for them. Try to dream of them, happy that you and I are safe."

Haruka, in tears at this point, wept and sniffed, rubbing her nose with her clothed arm. "O-Okay."

He smiled, then yawned. "Okay. Are you alright now? I'm – ah – quite tired, you know."

Before, he would turn and Haruka would grab onto his sleeve. However, he stayed and waited patiently.

She gave him his answer.

* * *

It wasn't like Haruka and Ringo had a bad relationship. In fact, it wasn't like that at all. The two were closer than any normal relationship, if not clearly seen due to their differences. They adjusted and formed this bond through the circumstances thrown at them at a young age, and Ringo felt responsible for looking out for the both of them.

Their normal routine on the weekdays would be that Haruka was at school, while Ringo was at work. Haruka would go home, do her homework, and cook dinner for two, and Ringo would come home late and find his sister either practicing her English or reading. On weekends, Haruka would attend her part-time job while Ringo would normally shop for clothes and food.

Ringo was a man in his twenties, eight years older than Haruka. His hair was a straight dark sunset orange, his eyes a sky-like blue. His work was at a restaurant, the theme surrounding butlers and maids. Ringo naturally could pose a sassy attitude and feminine looks. Thus, he worked as a maid and was paid much due to his high-spirited personality and his devotion to work adamantly and consistently. He was a very likable and liable man, but was only seen as a woman to everyone except for Haruka and his boss.

Haruka was a sixteen-year-old youth, with silky shoulder-length locks of a bright sunset pinkish-orange, her eyes a honey golden and her pale skin smooth and unblemished. Bangs draped over her forehead, her cheeks a naturally rosy hue and her small pink lips curved upward constantly. Like Ringo, she tried to be optimistic about her life, and was always thanking God for every meal, for the clothes she'd wear, and for the money in her hands when paying for when being paid. Unlike Ringo, Haruka would be polite yet blunt at times, and was a curious sort who liked riddles and puzzles. She would tend to not think twice but she was a very obedient young woman.

Together, the two lived in America, due to escaping Japan after an incident. They could not show their faces again, could not mention their names, and had to lay low. Ringo's boss helped immensely when it came to concealing their identities, since the boss was a mysterious man himself. He claimed to know of their family and gave them the key to his old house, where the siblings currently dwelled.

In Haruka's gentle heart, innocence and purity dwelled within. Yet there was also brood and longing.

* * *

The next day, being Saturday, Haruka had a break day from work. Ringo had gone shopping as usual, leaving Haruka alone in their house.

"Ringo-nii-san needs a wife," she hummed, taking the time to vacuum the living room. "I just hope that she'd like me and give me company."

After vacuuming, Haruka could practically hear a pin drop in the silent house. "Ah, but everyone thinks that nii-san is a girl," she mused, eyeing the dust on the bookshelves in the study room, "and nii-san doesn't like boys or anything… ah. I wonder if one day a girl would accept nii-san as a man. If only he could be a man."

The girl started to walk over into her bookshelf filled with books she liked (though there wasn't enough room so she kept her favorites in her room). Whenever Haruka went out shopping with Ringo, she'd wander off to the bookstore, reading as many titles and flipping to the back of as many books as possible. When she had plenty of time, Haruka would even read the first chapter of each book. After a good number of books catch her eye, she would buy them. They mostly were fantasy novels, historical fiction, romance series, and _especially_ classic literature.

Walking around the house, she came across the glossy, white piano – bought entirely from saved up gift money. Ringo insisted for the family picture to be on top of the piano, showing himself and Haruka as children with their parents. Haruka smiled wistfully, inhaling the faint scent of lemon (she had wiped it from its dust earlier with a fragrant spray), while sitting down on the piano chair. Lifting the cover up, her fingers grazed the keys. She sat down.

Her fingers moved on its own – and gracefully so.

Music had spoken volumes into her life, and had influenced her form. If it weren't for learning to play the piano, Haruka would be much shyer, slouching on her unconfident posture, and less motivated. She loved to sing as well, though only when alone, and dance in a way that felt elegant. She sometimes imagined a partner.

But dancing was different. Haruka could not hum while dancing, or else it triggered a bad memory she wished to suppress. It gave her an unsettling feeling, because she'd hum the same thing. Even playing the piano, while beautiful, cursed her with that tune her fingers would often play. Ringo hated the song as well, and they both held back feelings of anguish like a wall of monochrome silence.

Haruka, her eyes dull, replenished her color through books, escaping to her room and reading until she heard the calls to nap. She tried resisting it, but sleep was inevitable for Alice Liddell.

Her eyes fluttered shut.

And her dreams came alive.

* * *

Nanami Haruka ~ Alice Liddell

Tsukimiya Ringo ~ Lorena Liddell


	2. Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

**Originally Posted on: May 30, 2014**

**Updated on: May 19, 2016**

**Author's Note: Like I said previously, readers who have read this story before don't need to read this chapter. If you need a refresher, I'll post it in the next chapter. You're welcome haha! :)**

* * *

I

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

It was summer.

Haruka retreated to her backyard Friday, reading under the large oak tree for shade. The sky reminded her of Ringo's eyes, with the richness of the blue. She never looked up at the sky in Japan.

Not even once, she supposed.

The sun was high and bright, beating down. She would've been uncomfortable of the heat weren't it for the light breeze that she enjoyed. The weather was more than nice, but there weren't quite words to explain it. Some would say that Haruka was simply at peace.

Inhaling the sweet scent of flowers, Haruka marveled at the garden in her backyard. "Nii-san does well watering the plants," remarked Haruka. "They're very… beautiful."

And so she read with the sounds of nature around her – the wind swishing her hair not wildly but comfortably, the sound of the leaves of the tree rustling against each other, the creatures around moving about – and it was calming. It was tranquil, and quite pleasant, a break from her demanding life.

An hour had passed, and Haruka read off a fourth of the book. Within several more hours, she was finished. The sun was behind her, but not quite setting, sending faded shadows onto the pages of her open novel. Within a few minutes of thinking pensively, Haruka began speaking to herself, playing with the hem of her periwinkle skirt.

"It must be fun for the protagonist to be in such a silly world with talking rabbits and pretend tea parties. With a queen who likes to behead, and a silly cat that likes to speak in riddles," she mused. "The life Alice had. What about me?"

She paused. "My name is Alice, right? But it's Haruka. My parents gave me the name Nanami Haruka. But nii-san gave me the name Alice. In fact, I'm Alice Liddell. I…"

Quite suddenly, a cat frolicked up to her, causing her to jump. "_Ah_!" she exclaimed in surprise, her hands flying up to protect herself. Haruka realized that she could be a bit helpless at times.

And silly.

Not a moment after, she laughed while stroking his shiny fur. "It's you. Kuppuru."

The cat meowed while licking his paw. "Meow."

"What a cute kitten," cooed Haruka, tickling his face and ears.

Kuppuru was a stray cat Haruka liked to play with from time to time, adorned in fine black fur, sleek and shiny over light, eyes glowing a piercing green. She couldn't have him though because Ringo didn't like cats. He insisted that they brought bad luck – especially the black ones, despite the opposite tale in Japan.

He'd murdered several there. He was blamed.

Haruka peered over the cat. "I want you so much," she sighed, "but nii-san would never want to see a cat again. He's just feeling guilty over them because he thinks that he'll hurt them. But he's just very caring that way."

As she continued to babble nonsense to Kuppuru, she abruptly stopped when she heard rustling in the bushes. She glanced over, then slowly began to talk again. "Erm, um – maybe I should give you an English name, right? Would you like… Dinah? Oh, but that's a girl's name, isn't it? Well, how about—"

The sound interrupted Haruka again, giving her a jolt. "**Who** **–** **who's** **there?**" she called out with her best English.

"**Why must you speak English when you can speak in rhyme?**" asked a voice.

Haruka jolted. "**Wha – _huh_?**"

"**I'm right here!**" She slowly turned to the cat. It meowed at her.

"**Kuppuru didn't talk… or did he…**"

"**Fact is, miss, I did.** Would you prefer Japanese?" Haruka's eyes scanned the garden, standing up with a troubled look on her face.

She blinked at a small boy in front of her she didn't notice smiling up at her. "Ah – ah – what—" she stammered, swallowing thickly, "—who – who are you?"

The boy lightly scratched the side of his slightly curled salmon pink hair that matched his eye color, while his white rabbit ears perked up and wiggled. Haruka stared at the ears. _Real?_ Haruka wondered, stupefied.

"I'm the _White_ _Rabbit_ – _Mi-ka-do Na-gi_," he pronounced. His head was tilted, his body bowing slightly, so he could see her eyes under her thick bangs. "Nice to meet you, Alice-chan."

"A-Alice-chan?" Haruka dumbly repeated. "How did you—"

"Ali-chan. I know a lot about you!" Nagi chirped. "You read a lot, play the piano, like to sing, have a brother, lived in Japan – all kinds of stuff. Your favorite color is a light teal, your favorite drink is citrus tea, and—"

"H-How do you know all of that?" interrupted Haruka in disbelief. "I – this is – _wait_!" The other facts he listed faded away like white noise when she heard that he knew about her past in Japan. _How could he have known that? Who told him! Does Ringo-nii-san know this boy! And… w-what's with his ears?_

Nagi started to laugh. "Ali-chan! Would you like to follow the white rabbit? We could play a game together."

Haruka snapped back into reality. People didn't have rabbit ears attached to their head that perfectly moved on their mental command. She didn't even know this clearly-irrational kid that stalked her somehow, without her knowing. And so she couldn't just say, "Of course," for that wouldn't make sense at all.

Or did it have to make sense? She herself questioned her sanity at times.

"Eh…" The rosette could barely form words in her mouth.

Nagi snugly wrapped his arms around her waist without warning. "Ah!" she squealed in surprise. "M-Mikado-san…"

"Please?" The White Rabbit shot her a pair of very persuasive pity eyes. "We'll just play a game, that's all!"

"Um, w-what kind of game?" asked Haruka, closing her eyes to shut out her vision. Her brows furrowed, uncertain.

"A very fun game!" he exclaimed while flinging his arms up. "You just need to follow me."

"I don't – _well_ – where will we be going?"

Nagi gave her an innocent, toothy grin, saying, "To a wonderful wonder world."

Like many teens her age, Haruka had thought that the child in front of her meant something along the lines of, 'We're going to the world of imagination!' She tentatively smiled and, being kind as she was, nodded. "Oh, of course we could go, Mikado-san. But we shouldn't wander off too far—!"

The minute she gave him her consent, Nagi snatched Haruka's hand and practically dragged her into an unknown forest far from her house. "Let's go!" he cheered with a wide grin plastered on his face. His white blazer and pants were slightly smudged with dirt, his red scarf near undone. His pocket watch jingled at his side, but gave off a noise of ticking. Haruka thought of the time, knowing that the sun would set in less than two hours.

"Wait, we're going to be here, i-in this dark forest? Oh, I can't—!" Haruka bit her lip, regretting her decision.

"Are you scared, Ali-chan? There's no need to be afraid!" laughed Nagi. "I'm thirteen years old! I know what I'm doing."

"But I _can't_—"

"We're here!"

_Yikes, I can't see my house from here,_ Haruka thought, worried sick to the stomach. "I um – I _really_ think we should turn around—"

"Ali-chan!" interrupted Nagi with a disappointed look, as he continued to drag her. "We're already where we're supposed to be! We can't go back now. I'm going to be late!"

Haruka wore a befuddled expression. "Late? Late for what?"

Ignoring her, Nagi just took her hand and jumped into something Haruka couldn't see initially. Then, without realizing it at first, she found herself falling down a large hole. Her eyes bugged out beyond what she thought possible; her voice wished to scream but it was lacking. "Mi – Mi – M-Mikado-san! We're – we're—" she was petrified beyond proper words, her throat dry from the events, "—we're _falling_!"

Nagi glanced down while grinning and looking up at her. He let out a small laugh at her expression. "We are, aren't we?" he considered aloud, with such a relaxed voice that Haruka could only gape in horror like a fish out of water.

"But – we're going to _die_!"

She wondered how deep the hole was all of a sudden. She might've just reached the mantle at this rate, and she imagined the tragic death in tears.

"Alas, we cannot fall forever," sighed Nagi with a shrug. He checked his pocket watch. "Ah, it's six."

Haruka saw a light at the end of the rabbit hole, far from her. Her eyes widened in dread as she tried finding a branch that she could safely hold onto for dear life. But instead of seeing the normal things, she found floating teacups and saucers, open books large and small, lamps turning on and off on its own, water pitchers, candy apples, laced dresses, witch's brooms—and all were _floating_, defying gravity.

Realizing this, Haruka attempted to hold onto a large object that floated, scraping her nails onto a bookshelf to no avail. The top was slippery, and her nails were rather short, so she fell down, down, and down… deeper and deeper into the darkness…

Or light.

She closed her eyes and embraced her knees, waiting for the arriving impact of a painful death.

But it never came.

No one would've ever thought that the delightful child, Nanami Haruka "Alice Liddell," would die from falling into a strange rabbit hole. But she didn't die. She was simply dreaming under the tree, surely. Possibly? Of course.

Right?

* * *

The sound of a clock blared in Haruka's ears. _Tick, tock, tick tock_, went the clock, on and on, until the wheels couldn't turn – until it broke – and then it _stopped_.

Oh, how Haruka would grow to dislike the sound of the clock. Then, the sound grew louder like a grandfather's clock, _ding, dong, ding, dong_, on and on…

Was this the hour of… her death? Unpleasantly dramatic.

Her eyes shifted subtly, like an awakening angel. She slowly forced herself to sit up from the sweet-smelling grass that almost smelled like candy. As her golden eyes dilated from the dim light, she found herself alone, on a carpet of grass. 'Where am I?' she mouthed to herself.

Haruka started to grow worried. "… Nii-san? Mikado-san?" She stood up, leaving the lovely feeling of the grass tickling her pale skin. Now was definitely not the time to be slumbering peacefully, though she would've liked to.

Her breath hitched at the sudden cold draft. She shivered, rubbing her arms.

She looked down. Haruka wore a periwinkle dress with a white apron, laced at the hem of the skirt and on the edges of her puffed sleeves, knee-high socks striped in black and white, and red, strapped shoes with a small bit of heel. A thin ribbon was tied into her hair, serving as a headband.

Haruka stared up. There was the hole, or perhaps a tunnel, that she just fell down from. The floating objects still dwelled within the hole, sparking her curiosity for only a moment, before she let it go.

"I feel as if a part of me is gone," mumbled Haruka. The girl often talked to herself. She liked to play and to have "adventures" – typically fantasies in her mind – but usually knew when she was getting too far.

Haruka liked quiet and peaceful places, and was curious but never would go anywhere she sensed danger. She'd only ask questions and avoid risk.

Though, she couldn't help but wonder if by 'yes' to the White Rabbit, she meant that she'd let go of her past self, Haruka, and embrace her new self. Though, how silly.

Suddenly, she heard her name being called in a slight singing tone. "_Alice_," it serenaded. "_Precious Alice._"

Haruka felt a strange sensation. She mentally questioned herself at this. _I don't know this person calling me _–_ does he know me? Do _– _do I follow the voice? He could help me out, but…_

She looked right, finding a long hall, almost like a corridor. It stretched across to what seemed like forever, the end dark and uninviting (and yet intriguing), with the floors and walls just a black and white checkered pattern. The sight of it could trip anyone's eyes, perhaps getting them to think that their feet were stuck on the walls and they're walking down a hole. There were no mirrors or tables, but there were paintings hanging on the walls, draped in heavy cloth. She had a feeling that it was an illusion, but her feet moved on its own, and paced forward.

She looked back for a moment as she walked, but sought to find answers. There was no way she could climb her way up that hole she'd been falling from for minutes when gravity seemed to favor her.

From time to time, Haruka could sense the calling voice elsewhere. The rosette glanced around, the sound sending chills down her spine. She had to take deep breaths to slow her heart down.

Haruka was tempted to pull off each cloth over the paintings. She came to the conclusion that it couldn't hurt to lift off each cloth but not tear it completely off. As she lifted the first one, she first noticed a small caption below the painting, and a shiver ran down her spine when she glanced up.

The face was shadowed but entirely ominous. She couldn't recognize him at all, not that she thought she could, even if she was able to view his face clearly.

'The Dealer.'

A strange sensation washed over Haruka, in a way that she could hardly fathom. Seizing the cloth in her hands, she yanked it away. The face on the painting smirked, nearly giving her a heart attack, but Haruka pretended she was seeing things. Unnerved, she yanked each and every painting.

The second one was a man in a beard with black-feathered wings, smirking at her: 'The Raven.'

The third one was someone that didn't smile; but its pale, youthful face made Haruka gape: 'The White Rabbit.'

The next painting was a stoic, young man with cyan hair, mostly tied up, but some locks fell in the front. His eyes were cyan as well, cold and icy: 'The Conscious.'

There was a smirking man with violet eyes and shaggy chestnut-colored hair, with a jester hat and jester-like clothes that were red and black: 'The Joker.'

Next revealed a silver-haired man with a scowl upon his face, with mismatching eyes silver and violet. His clothing was mostly of white leopard fur and other animal furs, with a chain on his neck that had a silver ring hanging from it: 'The Bandersnatch.'

The title was unfamiliar. But from then on, Haruka was aware that they assumed titles from _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_.

_A dream_, she decided.

For once, there was a young woman with long, curly red hair and eyes the shade of a vibrant magenta, with a red, black, gold and white flowing dress, a gold crown, and a scepter with a ruby jewel. "Oh, it's 'The Red Queen,'" Haruka muttered. "Maybe she's the Queen of Hearts… ha – as, as if I'd…"

There was another redhead who was a man that looked genuinely cheerful despite no smile, with red eyes in silver armor. A sword lay at his side: 'The Red Knight.'

There was a blonde man dressed in white, a silver crown with diamond jewels adorning his head. His icy blue eyes were void of emotion, but in a different way from 'The Conscious.' A silver scepter was in his grip: 'The White King.'

The painting alongside had a navy-haired man in white armor, his eyes cold yet cool. His hair was spiky and flown out: 'The White Knight.' Haruka paused for a minute, staring at his eyes, and for a moment, it seemed to come across her that she's seen a man similar to him before.

His name was Hayato. Like Haruka, he moved to America from Japan, except he didn't change his name like she did. Hayato was a handsome, popular man at Haruka's school, and he was boisterous and energetic at times. He appeared like a Korean model or a member of an Asian boy band. Most of the time, Haruka and most other people saw him as an animated guy that came straight from a cartoon, who could do practically anything and nothing would bother him.

Haruka's eyes faltered. According to a friend of hers, Hayato liked her. Sure, he was sweet and kind, but he had this – this _feel_ to him that not many people understood, including her.

Beside 'The White Knight' was a painting of a stern looking man with straight blue hair and blue eyes, with a faint mole on his face. He wore many layers of loose, almost traditional clothing: 'The Caterpillar.'

Another was a black-haired man who looked like the quiet type, with bright yellow eyes and feathery clothing similar to 'The Raven,' except paler: 'The Dodo.'

_Ah… 'The Black Rabbit'?_

He had orange hair and black rabbit ears, and he looked older than Ringo. The only men Haruka thought was older than Ringo were 'The Dealer' and 'The Raven.'

Then, she blinked and stared blankly at 'The Mad Hatter.' He had bright blue eyes and small smirk on his lips, adorning a top hat with red-and-white roses and shoulder-length strawberry-blonde hair.

_How… handsome._

Well, she could admit that all of these men were handsome, but it felt embarrassing enough to let it cross her mind.

_Just who are these people?_

The next painting depicted a content young man (the corners of his mouth weren't up, but his eyes crinkled a bit) with blonde hair and green eyes, a pair of glasses resting on his nose. Brown hare ears were attached to his head: 'The March Hare.'

An annoyed-looking blonde with red clips on the side of his hair had small mouse ears on his head, his eyes a cerulean shade and his ears pierced: 'The Dormouse.'

There was a smiling man on the next one that would've been nice for a change if it weren't so off, as if the smile wasn't real. He had a deep brown hair color that reached his shoulders, his eyes a warm shade of grey. Haruka tried to smile at this: 'The Tweedles.'

_Where's the other Tweedle… a-ah—_

The smile was borderline unsettling, and then it stopped smiling. She thrust the cloth before it and swiped at the next one, only for it to be the last one.

He was someone that oddly resembled Kuppuru in Haruka's mind, which surprised her for a second. His skin was tanned, his hair dark, his eyes the same shade of green, and cat ears and a black tail on him. 'The Cheshire Cat' smiled at her, unlike the others, but what startled her was that she thought she saw a grin on him that flashed and disappeared.

Her breathing hitched unevenly, as she glanced around. "Who – who's there?"

"_Come, Alice…_"

"But I – I don't even know who you are. Can you please show yourself?" asked Haruka. The voice kept calling, however, ignoring her question. Haruka was growing desperate, as she started walking faster, faster, and eventually running. Sounds of maniacal laughing reached her sensitive ears, as she covered them, squeezed her eyes shut, and continued running. "_Please_ – please. Stop!"

What _happened_ to the calm strolling, examining paintings like window-shopping?

The laughing continued. If anyone else had heard it, they would've gone mad and would've found it unbearable. Haruka just kept running, completely terrified of it. "_NII_-_SAN_!" she screamed. "_M-Mikado_-_san_! Somebody! I need _somebody_ – urgh!"

Haruka's face smacked something hard. Her eyes snapped open to the end of the checkered hallway to a large room with multiple doors. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. "Why… why did I fall down the rabbit hole?" she cried up to the ceiling. "I – _must_ I fall, Mr. Rabbit?"

No, Haruka wasn't very fond of Wonderland, if this was what it really was. Maniacal laughter, dim lights, nonsensical scenery – it all couldn't be a dream. It felt way too real for that. But still, slipping away from all sanity suddenly seemed like a good option.

"Why must I… fall down the rabbit hole?" Haruka quietly whispered.

* * *

Nanami Haruka ~ Alice Liddell

Mikado Nagi ~ The White Rabbit


	3. That's the Great Puzzle

**Originally Posted on: May 19, 2016**

* * *

_Previously:_

_The dreams had been continuous. Whenever she slept, she'd just pick up right when the dream stopped._

_(The two [siblings Haruka and Ringo] lived in America, due to escaping Japan after an incident. They could not show their faces again, could not mention their names, and had to lay low. Ringo's boss helped immensely when it came to concealing their identities, since the boss was a mysterious man himself.)_

_"My name is Alice, right? But it's Haruka. My parents gave me the name Nanami Haruka. But nii-san gave me the name Alice. In fact, I'm Alice Liddell. I…" _

_"Ali-chan! Would you like to follow the white rabbit? We could play a game together." _

_Without realizing it at first, she found herself falling down a large hole. As her golden eyes dilated from the dim light, she found herself alone, on a carpet of grass._

_No, Haruka wasn't very fond of Wonderland, if this was what it really was. Maniacal laughter, dim lights, nonsensical scenery – it all couldn't be a dream. It felt way too real for that. But still, slipping away from all sanity suddenly seemed like a good option._

_ "Why must I… fall down the rabbit hole?" _

* * *

II

That's the Great Puzzle

Alice Liddell, once a girl named Nanami Haruka, was stuck in a mad world underneath the ground of the woods near her home. The White Rabbit, Mikado Nagi, dragged her to the forest a little faraway from her neighborhood. After a lot of thinking, she wanted to hereby dub this whole adventure as a "harmless dream."

But alas, she couldn't dub it a harmless dream. Because it stung her, shouting that it was reality. She was wondering how often these kind of events happened to young girls such as herself.

Had she gone mad?

And so there she was, frightened out of her mind by the giggling and laughing that blasted in her ears. Haruka backed herself onto a wall and slid down, hugging her knees.

But the laughing stopped. The voice snuck away.

"What are you doing here?" demanded a different voice.

Haruka shot her head up, scanning the room. It was rectangular, filled with doors of the same color, one of them being quite small while the rest being quite large. There was a glass table in the middle of the room with nothing on it.

Leaning on one of the doors towards her was a cyan-haired boy with a disdained expression on his face, his figure clothed in silver-and-white, draping silk. Mist formed around his feet.

Haruka recognized him from the painting in the hallway – and in her dream. "Are – are you—?" She found that she could hardly speak, as if this was the result of screaming for long periods of time.

The boy's eyes narrowed. "I am," he spoke monotonously. He then demanded answers. "Tell me, Alice. What are you doing here?"

Haruka no longer bothered trying to comprehend how people seemed to know her name. Though, what clouded her brain was the fact that she should've recognized him as more than just 'The Conscious.' She should've, like his voice and face; but that was all her memory let on, to her dismay.

"I followed a rabbit named, um, Mikado Nagi… and we fell down a hole…"

The Conscious closed his eyes. "I see," he uttered, yet it echoed in the room throughout the hall. Opening them, he stepped closer to her. "Do you know where you are?"

"I think I'm in Wonderland – though I m-might just be crazy…"

The Conscious' eyes flashed briefly in interest. "If that is what you wish to believe," he said, observing Haruka's figure. Her hands still gripped her knees, but she tried to keep polite eye-contact. And she didn't bombard him with questions, unlike the others.

"My name is Mikaze Ai, being The Conscious. I accompany and explain to an Alice Outsider. That is my role, Haruka."

"Mikaze?" Haruka repeated. _That name sounds so familiar… w-wait. _

Her eyes widened, similar to when she experienced falling down the rabbit hole.

He soundlessly sighed. "Is something the matter, Alice?"

"I – you—" It was no use. She could hardly manage a sentence. _He _– _he was the one from that nightmare I had, wasn't he? Was that not a _– _or was it— _She swallowed, her throat parched.

"Well," Mikaze continued, pacing back-and-forth, "as the Conscious, I am to guide you around so-called Wonderland, and arise 'choices.' This is the game you've agreed to play, Alice. The White Rabbit – the foolish dimwit – had to propose the game, or else you wouldn't be here."

_He did mention a game_, Haruka thought as she looked up at his eyes once more.

Haruka spoke, as if reminiscing, "Mikado-san said something about following him, though I don't know where he is anymore…"

"It's more complicated than that," explained Mikaze, "but it is also very simple. Here are the rules for this very first part of the game. It is more of a test."

"Eh? What – what kind of test?" Haruka warily asked. She started to mumble to herself, and Mikaze let her for a moment.

After a while, when she quieted down to the point that she was mouthing her outspoken thoughts, the Conscious dismissed, "It doesn't matter. This test will prove whether or not your wits and gut will survive Wonderland is all. It'll also let us know if you are the right Alice."

Haruka gulped. _My name isn't really Alice. Does he know that?_

"Ah, 'us'?" she echoed.

"You surely won't live without cleverness in this world," he said, ignoring her question. "No one will help you in this test directly, including me. If you pass this test, then I'll explain more as you move on to the next game." Mikaze pulled out a stopwatch. "We'll see how long you take. Your trial starts now."

The sound of a door closing caused Haruka's head to whip around, only to turn back to where Mikaze was once, but had disappeared. "He's gone," Haruka sighed. "And I was just about to ask him a few other things too. Not that I have the focus and outspokenness to…"

She rubbed her temple, quite tired and exasperated. Haruka glanced at the doors, furrowing her thin brows. "What do I do in this 'game'…? _Eh_! I don't even know what to do. Honestly—!" She grabbed a fistful of her hair.

Standing up from the checkered floor, she thought about the doors. "There are so many," she whispered. Thinking about this with more depth, her face forcefully brightened up. "Maybe one of these doors could take me home – maybe I don't have to play the next game."

Twisting her body around to look at each door, her eye caught the small one. But it was _quite_ small. Only something as small as a large mouse could pass through it. Nonetheless, she had nothing to lose seeing what was inside of it.

Haruka just twisted the tiny doorknob without much thought, only to find it locked. With her foot, she tried kicking it open, only to realize how stubbornly firm the door was.

She huffed quietly. Then, she whipped her head at the sound of something hitting a door. It came from the one across from her left side; Haruka opened the door with ease.

And in came a boy the size of Nagi, maybe slightly taller, crashing on top of Haruka's body. "Ack!"

"Eek!"

"What the hell woman, would you stop—"

Deep, cerulean eyes locked onto golden. Haruka, trapped on the floor by the body on top of her, was flushed at the proximity; the boy rolled off of her. His eyes were wide with confusion and shock. "Urgh – sorry! Sorry." He stared at her, as if he'd been familiar with everything in his world except her.

"Oh, um, no! It's fine," Haruka assured. "Really. Though – who are you?" He seemed familiar to her, from the portraits in the hallway, but she forgot who it was.

"Huh?" He stood up, with Haruka finally seeing him better. He had blonde hair, and those blue eyes that reminded her of her brother's. He was short for a boy, but he had cute, furry grey mouse ears on top of his head.

Although he was pretty grumpy for a mouse.

"Well, my name is Alice," Haruka spoke. At this, the mouse boy stiffened. He slowly looked at her, up and down at her appearance, and repeated the action several times. Eventually, a finger lifted up from his side, his mouth agape.

"_You_. Your name is Alice?"

Haruka blinked, looking down at herself as well. Her name wasn't really Alice, but what would happen if she said 'No' after she said that name _was_ Alice? She didn't want to look like an idiot anytime soon. And she technically was Alice anyway. Why did she even hesitate?

"Y-Yes," was her response. "That's my name. Alice Liddell."

"You don't look like an Alice Liddell."

She decided to tell the mouse boy the truth. Sort of. "I changed my name to Alice Liddell."

"Why?"

"I… had to." In all honesty, Haruka didn't know what she was doing at the moment. She was just blabbering out about herself. So she turned the tables as best as she could. "What – what about your name?"

"Oh right," he said. Jerking his thumb to his chest, he spoke, "My name is Kurusu Syo. But you can call me Syo, if you want."

Haruka was silent for a moment, before she responded, "O-Okay… Syo-kun."

_I just realized… we're both speaking Japanese. Mikaze-san and Mikado-san spoke Japanese as well. So the honorifics are okay, right?_ thought Haruka.

Syo blushed. Haruka didn't seem to notice this, so he went ahead and asked her, "What are you doing here?"

The rosette gasped, "That's right. Well, a boy with rabbit appendages brought me here. We um, fell down a hole. Does that make any sense? Maybe not. Haha." She laughed nervously at this, knowing that there wasn't any way he could believe her.

Oh wait. He had animal ears as well, so there wasn't any way he _couldn't_ believe her.

Syo blinked, then shouted, "_Hah?_ No way, _Mikado_ brought you here?"

Haruka practically jumped. "You know Mikado-san?"

"Yeah I do! Ugh," groaned Syo, scratching his head, "that guy is weird. One minute, he'll act all cute and innocent, and the next thing you know, _bam_"—Syo startled Haruka with the sudden burst—"he's a twisted psychopath!"

Haruka gasped. "You – you don't mean that! D-Do you?" she sputtered, shocked.

Syo made a face. "What? Didn't you get that weird feeling about him? Other than the fact that he's got these ugly ears on his head?" His mouse ears twitched at this. "I mean, it's not really that unusual to have rabbit ears in Wonderland, but he makes it look creepy. I don't know, okay?"

Haruka wasn't following.

"Anyway," Syo moved on, speaking in a quieter voice, "you haven't met _him_ then, haven't you? Or anyone else, right?"

The girl was befuddled at him. Her mind was elsewhere when he ranted about Mikado, and then it clicked. "You're the Dormouse!"

"The hell I'm the Dormouse! Did you hear me?"

"W-What?" Haruka shook her head to think, and replied, "I've met Mikaze-san. Is he '_him_'?"

Syo fiddled with his beige buttoned shirt. Haruka then noticed that his ears were pierced with 10k (karat) gold studs. Red pins were drawn to the side of his head to pull back some bangs. His brown boots were a bit dirty. Say… his clothes were dirty too. What was he doing earlier?

"Did he give you a test?"

"Hm? Oh, well – yes. I'm actually doing it right now… but…"

Syo was slack-jawed. "Wait, seriously? What the heck!" he exclaimed, surprised. He finally glanced around, and rubbed his temple. "You're _that_ new to this place, huh Alice? Well, let me tell you this: this part of Wonderland is _dangerous_. You could get insane in here real fast."

Haruka gasped. "_Really_? I – what do we do!"

"You complete the test, obviously!" yelled Syo, smacking his head. "If I tell you anything more, then I'm might as well dead. How long have you been here?"

"A-About ten minutes or so, including that grass area and the hall," she stammered, biting her lip. She fretted when The Dormouse let out a strained noise.

"Listen…" He looked around, then leaned forward to whisper, "Don't stay here for too long. Figure out the puzzles already. I bet they're the same – so I'll give you clues. Though, the rest _you_ have to figure out."

"Syo-kun," Haruka worriedly spoke, "I don't want you to break any rules or get hurt for this."

Syo shook his head. "Nah, no worries. Riddles are the way through Wonderland. There's no way riddles could break any rules." He scratched his head, then said, "Uh, close your eyes, see the gold, walk the way, through the road."

Haruka furrowed her brows. _W-What?_

The Alice Outsider bit her lip, unsure if he meant that literally or not. She closed her eyes, and then opened them abruptly, shocked. "S-Syo-kun—"

"_Close your eyes_," he repeated with urge, "_see the gold, walk the way, through the road._"

Haruka nodded, gulping. She closed her eyes once more, and walked forward, then sideways, as she followed the gold path at her feet. Eventually, she hit a door. Without Syo saying anything, she immediately tried to open the door. Locked.

Syo was watching her silently, wondering if the Cheshire Cat was around toying with them. He cursed under his breath. Though, glancing over Haruka as she tried opening each door got him staring. Her hair was a beautiful shade of reddish orange, and even pink under the light, and her eyes were quite determined like none he'd ever seen. He could really stare at them, and he'd be satisfied for a while.

It was the dress that pissed him off.

All Alice Outsiders wore that same old dress, like it's their only wardrobe. This made Syo briefly consider that maybe this Alice wasn't special at all, and she was just like the other ones before her. Though, he could counter that there was never a redheaded Alice in Wonderland _ever_.

They were all blonde Alice Outsiders. Haruka, however…

_Am I seriously helping her just because she seems a little different? Maybe it's because her name is Alice Liddell, like the first Alice…?_

"Hey, Al. Can I call you that? Okay, Al," said Syo, "the secret door that you can't see, will hide the thing that you will need."

Haruka didn't object, as she closed her eyes again and listened. She heard a voice calling her, as she stepped a bit to the side and touched the wall, which made her slip through the wall.

Behind her, Syo tensed. _She'll come back out all right_, he thought. _She can't just fail this part. She better not._

When she walked out, her face was pale, but in her hands clutched a silver key. "T-There were…"

He rushed to her, grabbing the key from her hands and patting her head. "Hey, it's okay," he assured her, walking over to a door. "That room shifts upon an Outsider's fears. Only one Alice Outsider has failed that simple task."

Haruka shivered, then nodded, hurrying to meet up with him. "That makes sense… I mean, what you said about the fear door."

"Funny way to call it." He yanked the door open and drew out the key. Out of curiosity, Syo asked, "What'd you see?"

Haruka blinked at him for a moment. Suddenly, a thought came into her head. _I shouldn't trust him completely, should I?_

She smiled timidly, and walked in front of him. "I'm sorry, but that's a secret," she said in response, feeling guilty but sounding slightly playful.

"Wha – seriously? _This _is what I get for helping you, huh?" Syo retorted, crossing his arms at her retreating back. "I'm staying here by the way. You have to find what you need on your own."

"Alright," she answered back, glancing behind her at Syo a final time before breathing evenly. He didn't seem as angry at her response as she thought, so the guilt ceased its feeding on her cells.

Haruka came back with a gold key in hand.

"Good job," Syo praised fleetingly, taking the key and handing Haruka the silver one. "Don't use this for a door."

"W-What?"

"_Not for a door, but for something more._"

Haruka repeated, "Something more…?" Then, it came to her rather quickly at the sight of the gold key, as her eyes fluttered shut once more. In the darkness, a silver path revealed itself.

She never favored silver, as it reminded her of incidents in her past. The silver dust, the silver knife, and the silver bullets on a silver chain. The silver cuffs that rusted and smelled and stung. The silver coins that tasted like blood.

Haruka took hold of her thoughts before it could infest her brain and cause her to break down.

There was yet another room that found out her fears and simulated them. It was even scarier than the first, since it was dark and no sound could be emitted. Not even her voice. Not even her swallows. Not even her footsteps. She felt blind and deaf.

Hands grabbed onto her shoulders. Haruka fell to the ground on her back, and the figure on top of her started sucking her neck and collar. He smelled like smoke and ashes, and knocked out the air in her breath.

Haruka screamed for help, but there was no sound. His hands roamed her quivering body. She had experienced this before, and had realized this with horror all too late. Gathering what strength and courage she found in her, she kneed him in the gut and rolled him over. She felt a rush of wind and liquid splashed onto her face and front body.

Heart pounding, she felt her way to the body. It was already cold, and from the lack of a feeling on the pulse she concluded he was dead. Something had ran him over.

Outside of the room, Syo understood that the room with the bronze key was much, much harsher. The first room could be of spiders and screams, small jump-scares and chases from childhood horrors, but the this room was psychological and terrifying on deeper levels.

By the time Haruka emerged from the wall, the both of them found blood on her face and body, bruises on her skin, tears on her striped stockings, and a clear plastic key in her hand.

Twenty minutes had passed, and he was about to leave before her return weren't it for his wonder of the outcome.

Syo saw her as a soldier.

He even had (and needed) help from the March Hare to get him out of there. He knew he shouldn't have to go in there if he had a choice, but his curiosity outmatched him. But his fear soon outmatched him as well.

Anyone and anything foreign to the rooms in the walls were capable of being killed there.

But she survived.

"You got the wrong key, you know," Syo slowly began, walking towards her hesitantly. She flinched, her arms raised, and he stopped. He noticed the tears in her eyes, signifying the start of a breakdown. Moving faster, he instinctively flung out his arms for her body to collapse on and wore a conflicted face.

"This is too _much_, Syo-kun," she wept, clutching his shirt despite its filth. "Am I gonna die? Will I die if I don't complete this? _No_ – will I be here forever?"

Syo let out a shaky breath. "N… no. I won't let you, I…"

He knew there'd be a cost and punishment for breaking the rules, but he did it anyway.

He interfered with her game.

The Dealer predicted this, and won the bet against the Raven. For this, the Raven couldn't write this incident on the strict Book of Woes. He had to write it down with different ink on Haruka's story, _Nanami Haruka's Adventures in Wonderland_.

How quaint; Haruka was the first Alice Outsider whose name wasn't originally Alice.

But she also shared the name of the first Alice.

Syo drew out a bottle from his jacket, and asked for the key. Gently taking it from her trembling hands, he pulled the cork and sprinkled a bronze powder on the key. "We don't need to go in there," he told her. "This'll turn into the key we need."

Haruka was too frightened to speak. She let go of his shirt and gasped at the bloodstains.

"Ah, it's okay. I'll just… wash them off later, Al."

The rosette faltered, but didn't insist. Syo was relieved of that. He hated that the previous Alice Outsiders insisted on things constantly and annoyingly. Sure, Haruka had help from him, but she didn't push him away when he offered his help nor did she abuse it.

Haruka was just relieved that she could see and hear again, that she found her way back.

When the key hardened to bronze, it shifted to appear like the other two keys. He took Haruka's right hand and placed the three keys on it. "We can get out of this room with one of these. One of them will fit the door right there," explained Syo, pointing to the small mouse door. "I don't know which one, so I can't help you."

Haruka barely managed, "B-But we can't get _through_ that door—"

"Yeah we will." His hand shuffled in jacket and pulled out a bottle sloshing with translucent green liquid and empty vials. "This'll shrink our bodies. Don't worry, once we find Natsuki, he can get us the Hatter's cookies that'll grow us back to normal. But uh, don't eat any of Natsuki's own cookies."

"Who – who is—"

"I'll explain more later, promise. But we need to get this done. I kinda want to get outta here," Syo admitted, rubbing his neck. "Don't you?"

Haruka nodded faintly. The two walked over to the door. Crouching down, Haruka examined the lock and the keys. "What if I get the wrong one?" she barely whispered.

"No questions. Just _don't_ get the wrong one."

She pursed her lips.

"No pressure. Sorry if I gave you some just now."

She went with her gut.

Taking the bronze key, despite it being once an entirely out-of-the-question plastic key, Haruka thrust it into the keyhole. Syo's eyes widened. "Wha – wait a minute—"

The word 'amused' simply could not describe the look on The Dealer's face.

* * *

Mikaze Ai ~ The Conscious

Kurusu Syo ~ The Dormouse


	4. Among Mad People

**Originally Posted on: June 22, 2016**

**Author's Note: I can post once a month. When school hits in August, I will be posting one every other month, and the quality will likely be not as great then either. I want to post at a constant, getting myself into a good habit. Haha... just a note-to-self.**

* * *

_Previously:_

_Alice Liddell, once a girl named Nanami Haruka, was stuck in a mad world underneath the ground of the woods near her home._

_"This is the game you've agreed to play, Alice. The White Rabbit – the foolish dimwit – had to propose the game, or else you wouldn't be here."_

_ "Riddles are the way through Wonderland. There's no way riddles could break any rules."_

_ They were all blonde Alice Outsiders. Haruka, however… _

_She went with her gut._

_The word 'amused' simply could not be enough to describe the look on The Dealer's face. _

* * *

III

Among Mad People

Kurusu Syo could not believe it. All he could utter was Nanami's English name, in the cute nickname he gave her, as he cursed inwardly at The Dealer.

_Seriously? Old man, if you could do that, why make Al go through the bronze key room?_

It was Syo's first experience with an Alice Outsider one-on-one. He heard rumors of the brutal experiences of the previous Alice Outsiders, but only the Raven – and possibly the Joker and the Caterpillar – were given access to the true information. He had heard ridiculous stories from them, and could hardly believe them despite his running mouth. Syo only ever trusted wholeheartedly the Black Rabbit, since he was cursed to only speak the truth. He was also someone he looked up to out of everyone he had known.

Of course, he had met other Alice Outsiders in the past. But the meetings were brief, and he never spent time with them…

_Surely they're not all like this Alice._

Haruka and Syo shrunk at the taste of the tart apple "Drink Me" poured into their vials. Syo had only just met her, so he couldn't just share the bottle. Duh.

After they successfully entered Wonderland, Syo said with a weary breath, "Welcome to The Other World. Some call it UtaPri here, so if you get confused, they're the same thing. I don't know what you call it, but someone told me that recent Alice Outsiders call it 'Wonderland.' Sounds better, to be honest."

"Ah – 'The Other World'?" Haruka echoed. She smiled very slightly. "That sounds nice too. Though, UtaPri sounds a bit strange… frankly, this whole situation is just barely processing in my head…"

"Well," Syo puffed, his arms outstretched for his fingers to knit together behind his head, "I'm just glad I'm back in one piece. I don't even remember what I was gonna do in the Hall, but I don't care anymore. No one ever should stick around there for too long, and I sure have. At least I get bragging rights."

Haruka then remembered her manners. She turned to him, wholly acknowledging his help and holding out the vial, to which he said for her to keep it. "Um, you know… I'm _really_ thankful for you. You saved my life, really… I mean, you – you could've _left_ me to save yourself, and yet… just, thank you so much."

"_What_?" Syo had to fully turn away from her to prevent her from seeing the red creeping up his face. "Um, _no_, it was mostly you. You could've just put the plastic key in and dealt with it all—"

"No, there's no way – I wouldn't have known that the small door led to Wonderland, Syo-kun. A-And there was no way I could fit through even if I figured it out…"

Syo let out a laugh. "I guess so," he relented, convinced that the exchange would go on forever if he didn't stop it. "But I heard that there're small stashes of dust in some of the doors. Those are 'magic' that can help you teleport. There are also vials with the shrinking liquid too – oh, wait. Sorry, this must be too much information, given what you had to go through… sorry, I—"

Haruka shook her head before he started blaming himself. "I'm alright now, Syo-kun," she assured him. She glanced down at her bloodied dress and his bloodstained shirt, and tried to smile. "I'm safe now. Though, I don't want to be alone while I'm here for now… i-if that's alright with you."

"I'll help you find someone you can stay with for a bit," Syo agreed, taking her lightly by the wrist. "Come on."

Haruka's eyes helplessly wandered to the door behind her, accepting that she couldn't go back that way and determined to find another.

* * *

It had been a good thirty minutes of just walking. The first five silently passed and felt quite suffocating. Neither mouse nor Alice knew a clue of what to speak of at the time, but Syo slowly began to explain Wonderland's tidbits and complications. Haruka didn't know if she felt intrigued or overwhelmed.

At the moment, Haruka asked to rest. Her legs begged to stop, and Syo noticed it slow earlier but didn't think he was gentlemanly enough to ask right. The two moved to the shade of a tree, adorned in silver leaves; Haruka was fascinated by its genuine appearance, and Syo wasn't sure what to make of it. After all, he was used to the strange sights as to see them ordinary.

"Do you ever think that you can make jewelry from melting and molding those leaves, Syo-kun?"

"Um… no? You can't make jewelry out of _those_ silver leaves. The next day, they'll turn to gold leaves, and then copper the next. Even if you melt them into, say, a ring, they'll turn to gold and copper and such."

Haruka let out a breath. "All the better!" she countered. "When you change your clothes, you can reuse the same ring over and over again."

"It can turn into anything though, not just metals," Syo informed, scratching his neck. Maybe this girl really was a pain. She was kind of wasting his time with petty remarks and rest stops. He could always just leave her.

But he almost got her killed. He owed her one.

But for all he knew, she could be manipulating him! She could possibly be lying about being not only an innocent victim with an angelic exterior, but an infamous Alice!

But her voice was cute and her eyes were mesmerizing.

But—

"Syo-kun?"

He closed his eyes tightly, mentally swatting his misty cloud of thought. "Yeah?"

"You know, I think – well you – you don't have to help me anymore. You didn't need to in the first place. I'm so grateful that you did, and I'm sure I'll find more trouble now, but… I think I'll be fine. You don't need to be dragged down with me. You don't need to explain to me things if you don't want to."

He sucked in a breath. The way she spoke was mesmerizing, almost more so than her eyes. It astonished him. "Well," he began, leaning back on the tree more and patting his leg repeatedly, as if trying to figure out what to say, "this was my choice all along. To help you, I mean. It's fine. I want to help you anyway because it's hard to get out of the Hall—_oh my f_—I remember why I was there!"

Syo cursed. Haruka flinched at his sudden change in tone.

"W-What's wrong?" she stuttered.

"I – ugh, I was there for some free dust and stuff and, I mean, you got to pay for that stuff here." He scratched and yanked at his ears, too preoccupied to notice the pain in his pierced areas. "The good dust that works just great is sold here by a man who charges your whole wallet and more."

Haruka didn't know what to say. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's not for you to say sorry for. It's still a stupid reason to go in _there_," sighed Syo. "Getting in the Hall, whether on purpose or not is a gamble for your life. I was desperate."

"If you don't mind me asking, um – why do you need it exactly?"

He glanced at her and hesitated, wondering if his reason was ridiculous. It wasn't. But what about it to her? Why did she care? It wasn't like _she_ could get dust any easier than he could, especially now that she was in the workings of UtaPri.

"You see… I'm a mouse. But not just any mouse, I'm The Dormouse. You've probably heard of me, but don't know what I do." He clicked his tongue, forming the words in his head. "People like me, like the Mad Hatter or the March Hare, are given abilities with their title. You, as an Alice, are able to withstand large doses of those dust, which are 'magic,' which is what I can handle too. Others can't do that."

Haruka hummed and nodded, gesturing to continue. Syo blinked.

"Erm, using dust can cause 'illusions,' which can actually really change things if you put a lot of it on a certain person or object. Dust can also be used to teleport to a certain place. You can also change the time of day, but you can't go back in time or anything. It really just makes the sky daytime or night."

"That's… really amazing."

"What? How?"

She faltered. "You don't think so?"

"I mean, all this is normal. It's what I grew up with, so – wait. You mean to tell me that this isn't normal? None of what I'm saying exists in your world?"

The girl shook her head. "Not at all. There is no 'dust' like what you're talking about, you can't control where the sun shines, and titles don't bound you into any abilities, more of privileges, though it's not quite easy to explain that."

"Really? Cool, I guess." Syo blew at his bangs, wishing that he could just continue the conversation while walking to the Spades House. The March Hare could explain things better than he could. Syo had some problem with words, or some fear. Whatever it was, he didn't like speaking for long periods of time. Perhaps he was just afraid of his short temper.

Then again, The March Hare was a whole other person without his spectacles.

After a few more moments of breathing, Haruka pushed herself off the tree and the two headed on. It wasn't long before they bumped into several servants of the Diamond Mansion, off to the Spades House for some negotiation. Syo explained that this was a constant at UtaPri, where there were weekly negotiations with each domain for the game to move like a clock – never stopping, continuous.

There were also "casts," which were the titles and abilities designated to certain pawns. Kurusu Syo was The Dormouse, who could live in different areas and have a large intake of dust on himself, abilities unique to him. Others had roles and abilities as well, but the numbers were limited; servants of the casts did not have special abilities and were forced to obey any order of their domain leader.

While Syo wasn't a domain leader, he did have a minor power over the domain leader's servants. It was like the King and the Duke in a royal kingdom.

While there were domain leaders, there were also "power roles." Power roles did not own land, but had stronger abilities given to them and more authority. They kept the UtaPri world's laws and order consistent and maintained, and two of them did not exist within the UtaPri territory. One of the power roles was the Dealer.

"So, Heart Castle, Spades House, Diamond Mansion, and Clover Forest – those are all of the domains?" questioned Haruka, gazing at the four fingers raised in her hand.

"Yeah – no, there's Arrow Woods too," Syo corrected. "Though that place is kind of dangerous. The casts living there are all power roles. They're especially dangerous for an Alice like you to be near."

"I see." Haruka sighed quietly, playing with the hem of her dress. She glanced over at Syo, who seemed to look sickened or conflicted. She really felt like a burden, and his expressions increased the feeling gradually until it achieved tenfold.

Syo stopped. Haruka trailed behind him, distracted with her thoughts, and bumped into his back. Before she could apologize, her words were shoved into her throat at the sight of the Spades House.

There was an elegant gate before her, wide and tall, and the design of spades extended to four corners that Haruka could barely see. Inside, she viewed a giant house, not quite appearing to be a mansion, but including a large balcony connected to another balcony with short, few stairs. The Spades House had two stories, the exterior painted in shades of black, white, and navy blue, with delicate plants hanging from some areas and potted on the floor of other areas, with gardens and statues placed to the left and right. The pathways were marble shaped like bricks, with slight changes in color in minor pathways from the main one – an eccentric sight.

However, the most peculiar thing about the Spades House was most definitely the elongated tables placed in the center of the gardens, with white tablecloths over the premium wood and teapots, delicate china plates, classy silverware, and family-crested napkins on top. It seemed so inviting, yet so intimidating, as if it was better to admire it from afar.

"Am I even welcome here?" Haruka asked tensely.

In a way, Syo could understand where she was coming from. The servants really overdid the classiness and neatness of the Spades House to the point where it seemed untouchable. But without any words, he firmly took Haruka's wrist, and marched on ahead. The Alice didn't seem to protest, so Syo gave himself consent to breathe.

A Spades servant, clad in a white and navy butler suit, bowed anxiously before Syo. "Master Syo, I would welcome you with a comfortable stay as usual, but I'm afraid you are being called to this negotiation. You have skipped three now, and must attend this one—"

"I know, I know," Syo interrupted, smacking his head. "That's why I'm here."

Haruka found it difficult to speak in the midst of something she wasn't involved in. Syo turned, glancing back and forth at her and the servant, then nodded decisively. Pacing behind her, Syo gently pushed Alice to the servant. "I trust you take this girl somewhere safe, away from the negotiations. Actually, take her to my room. Have someone entertain her, or something, just – just don't let her leave."

He was already on his way to the path as he was speaking. "She's probably hungry, so offer her something to eat and drink. I'll see you later Al!"

It was dangerous to let servants know about a new Alice. Some of them were spies for the power roles, and some casts were power roles in disguise. "Al" seemed to be a safe nickname; it would seem strange if he avoided her name.

"Peculiar name," the servant remarked. Before Syo was completely out of her sight, Haruka caught his serious expression directed towards her and gulped.

She wanted his trust.

"W-Well, Al is short for Alison. I'm new to this territory. I come from Clover Woods."

"Is that right? Well then, Miss Alison, Master Syo has entrusted you to me and I shall not break his trust, as it's rather hard to earn. Come along, and we can certainly change you out of that dress to fit in better if you'd like."

Waving his hand as a gesture, Haruka followed the servant to Syo's room. As she entered the main door, a wave of maids rushed to and fro. The butler with Haruka took her arm to guide her along, letting her know that this was normal to prep for negotiations.

"What do you do during a negotiation?" Haruka asked.

"Sometimes, there really is something to say, as rulers of domains aren't allowed to go to other domains and must assign servants to do so," the servant explained. "They speak of wars on occasion, as that's an excuse to get out of the domain – the Queen of Hearts tends to threaten to initiate war. Some request and bargain items the domains produce. And of course, most if not all domains request for the Clover Forest to send letters up to The Raven, who can change the very workings of UtaPri."

"I… see."

He took a sharp turn to the stairs, pulling Haruka with him. "I do apologize for this commotion. Please, enjoy your stay."

"Thank you, sir. May I have your name?"

The servant paused. "What? Us servants don't… well, we don't have names, Miss Alison."

"Oh!" Haruka's hand flew to her lips. "I'm so sorry! That was quite the words from my silly mouth. You see, well, I like – well I tend to name the servants at the domain I reside in…"

She hoped he'd buy it.

"Is that… so?" He seemed slightly but rightfully suspicious, but didn't press forward. The servant likely wanted to keep Syo's trust. "Well then, anyway. I must ask how you've gotten so close to Master Syo. I haven't heard a lick of you before, dare I say."

Haruka smiled. "Well, I saved his life not too long ago. We sort of clicked after that."

"May I ask of you to elaborate? How exactly did you save his life? Master Syo is skilled in defending himself plenty."

"We met at the Hall." Haruka suddenly wondered if she was giving too much information. She still didn't know much about UtaPri, so saying whatever she wanted could get her in trouble. "There honestly isn't much to say."

"The _Ha_ – why, what in Wonderland was Master Syo doing there? Oh, over here Miss Alison." The two turned to a long corridor. He knocked on one door, took out a row of keys, and unlocked it. It swung open, and Haruka inhaled the faint smell of cheese and metal. The first things she noticed were the intricate designs of navy blue spades and swirls on the walls and the carvings of the headboard of the bed, with the table on the side holding a bright lamp and the windows draped in thick, white curtains. The coffee table had a deck of cards laying on top.

Entering inside, she excused herself habitually. A puzzled look graced the servant's features at the action, but he was silent about that matter. "Say, what role do you play in UtaPri, Miss Alison?" he asked.

"Oh, well… I'm a special servant of the Clover Woods…"

The door closed behind her. There was a strange look in the servant's eyes.

"It's called the Clover Forest, Miss Alice." He stepped forward; Haruka stepped back.

She knew she messed up.

That was when she panicked.

"You think you can fool me? From your clothing to your lack of knowledge, to the snippet of a conversation I overheard from Lord Ren about the Spades Card going crazy, I just _knew_ another Game had started. The negotiation is actually concerning you. Syo is truly something else to put you in my hands without someone else to account me for."

"I – I—"

"Why are you afraid, Miss _Alison_? Aren't you going to defend yourself? Won't you pathetically plead innocence? I may not be able to kill you here, but I can get you somewhere where I can. I cannot tolerate another Alice betraying UtaPri, using us, playing with us and selfishly doing as she pleases." He drew out a knife from inside his coat. It glimmered and reflected Haruka's wide eyes. "You spark the jealousy inside us servants. You irritate us with your lack of sensitivity. All of you. You act just like them."

Her lip quivered, her back bumping into the bed. "Oh, I just – I'm sorry about the others, but I'd _never_ intentionally try to – to – _hurt_ you. _Please_, don't do this. You'll – why you'll lose Syo-kun's trust, wouldn't you—"

"To hell with 'Syo-kun.' I've covered myself up from any involvement with the last Alice's disappearance. I can do the same with you." He raised his knife above his head and swung. Haruka dodged, but the sharpness nipped at her shoulder. Her hand flung to her sleeve, now stained in scarlet.

The servant flipped the knife in his hand over, so that he could knock her unconscious. "Sweet dreams, Miss Alice!"

_Bam_.

* * *

R.I.P


	5. To Be or Not to Be

**Originally Posted on: July 15, 2016**

**Author's Note: It's five days later than my original uploading plan, but I had to revise a part of this chapter and squeeze something in it for the sake of characters - but it's all good!**

**Also, like most other authors, I really appreciate your thoughts on this story. Please review if you have the time! Favorites and follows are wholeheartedly welcomed too. :)**

* * *

_Previously:_

_There were also "casts," which were the titles and abilities designated to certain pawns. Others had roles and abilities as well, but the numbers were limited; servants of the casts did not have special abilities and were forced to obey any order of their domain leader._

_While there were domain leaders, there were also "power roles." Power roles did not own land, but had stronger abilities given to them and more authority. They kept the UtaPri world's laws and order consistent and maintained, and two of them did not exist within the UtaPri territory._

_"Master Syo, I would welcome you with a comfortable stay as usual, but I'm afraid you are being called to this negotiation."_

_"I trust you take this girl somewhere safe, away from the negotiations. Actually, take her to my room."_

_"Us servants don't… well, we don't have names."_

_"I just knew another Game had started."_

_"Why are you afraid, Miss Alison? Aren't you going to defend yourself? Won't you pathetically plead innocence? I may not be able to kill you here, but I can get you somewhere where I can. I cannot tolerate another Alice betraying UtaPri, using us, playing with us and selfishly doing as she pleases."_

_"Sweet dreams, Miss Alice!"_

* * *

IV

To Be or Not to Be

To say that the servant was shocked was an understatement.

"M-Master Syo—"

"You should check your own suspiciousness, lowly servant," spat Syo. The Dormouse lowered his gun, and walked over. Touching Haruka's shoulder, he scowled at the stain on his hand. It was wet, red, and smelled like metal, a scent stronger than the metal chains and bullets in his punkish room.

Though, the shot to the servant's own shoulder was more alarming in comparison. Still, the weight was heavier on Haruka's.

"Syo-kun, don't – please don't kill him," Haruka spoke, daring to grab Syo's hand holding the gun. "He just thinks that I'd – I'd—"

"That's just about most of the pawns of UtaPri, Al," Syo growled, his grip whitening his fist. "I avoided every Alice in my lifetime as much as I could until fate led me to you. I'm convinced that you're not like the other Alice-s before, now, but these people will judge you on the spot 'less there be a dire situation you can save them in like me."

The servant, hearing this, widened his grey eyes at Haruka. "W-What?" he puffed.

Haruka looked down. "I just… I wish I wasn't an Alice. I'm sorry if what I am makes you angry, sir. I don't think I can help much, but if you'd tell me slowly—"

_Bam. Thud._

Her eyes widened. The servant laid on the floor, the suffocating smell of copper filling Haruka's lungs. Syo was rather impulsive, and didn't waste any more time.

He sighed. He knew he'd be reprimanded or guilty doing what he did, whichever came first, but he made an effort to shrug it off. At the sound of the gunfire, footsteps of several maids and a tall, young man in a black and navy suit came rushing in to the scene. His hair was messy but curly in blonde waves framing his bright green eyes, hidden behind a pair of round spectacles. The young man's voice echoed, "_Syo-chaaan!_"

Syo sucked in a breath audibly. "_Natsuki_," he muttered jadedly, his head slowly turning to the man with his arms wide open.

"_Syo-chan! _Was that your fire! You gave me a heart. _Attack!_"

When the maids, still standing at the door, caught sight of the butler on the floor and the blood on Haruka's shoulder, they gasped. "What happened!"

Natsuki turned to Haruka and gasped loudly, grasping her uninjured shoulder strongly. "You! Don't tell me…"

Haruka noticed the caramel-colored hare ears perched on Natsuki's head, twitching and sticking up and down. She bit her lip hard and hitched her breath. But one look of his eyes and Haruka knew that he was simply concerned.

It didn't take a genius to know that Natsuki instantly knew. If anyone else had revealed Haruka in that way without Syo in the picture, he'd miss the entire picture. But somehow, with Syo in it, he just _knew_.

Ordering the maids out of the scene, Natsuki locked the door and placed his hands on his hips in a manner that spoke, 'Deets please.'

"You… figured she's an Alice, huh?" Syo began quite awkwardly.

"Syo-chan, honestly…" Natsuki ran a hand through his tousled bangs, his other hand on his hip. He prompted, "Where did you two meet? Where did you run off to?"

Syo and Haruka exchanged glances, and The Dormouse answered, "She saved my life in the Hall."

"What were you doing in the _Hall_!"

"Shut up, Natsuki! I needed dust!"

Natsuki squeezed the life out of Syo in a tight embrace. "Well at least you're safe! But still, don't go there again without me knowing! I could've gone with you, you know."

"Um, excuse me…"

The two turned to Haruka, who seemed dizzy. "I-I just was wondering, um, if I should wait outside of this room, since I seem to be impeding or making a mess of things—"

"_No!_" the two said in unison. Haruka stiffened. In truth, the smell of blood was sickening her and she wanted to leave. She was starting to feel lightheaded.

After an uncomfortable pause, Natsuki held out his hand. "I'm Shinomiya Natsuki," he greeted, with Haruka's pale hand in his. "May I call you Ali-chan?"

Haruka was slightly traumatized, and could barely let out a sentence, but she forced herself. "P-Please don't call me a name associated to Alice. I'd rather make an effort to avoid this incident," she managed.

"Oh?" Natsuki and Syo looked at each other. "What would you like us to call you, then?"

"Actually, I – ahem – I have a J-Japanese name. It's Nanami Haruka."

Syo blinked, jaw dropped, and scarcely let out, "N-Nanami it is then—"

"_Haru-chan it is then!_" loudly concluded Natsuki. He hugged Haruka and chuckled, "That's such a cute name! How unique for you to have a Japanese name out of all Alice Outsiders. Doesn't it make sense now, Syo-chan?"

Syo paused, then uttered a "yeah." He realized why the casts all had Japanese names this generation; it was all because of Haruka. Then he wondered if The Dealer and The Raven both had changed their names as well. Was he really that inexperienced with an Alice or was this Alice _the_ Alice?

"Um – I'm lost."

"It's okay," Syo said quickly, waving his hand. "Right now, you should stay here. Natsuki and I will take turns watching you."

"For your safety, Haru-chan," suggested Natsuki, "you shouldn't go out until we figure things out better. Others out there aren't as kind as us, and will want your head. Trust no servant, and we'll steer you clear of the casts you cannot trust."

Haruka idly glanced at the body on the floor; his blood stains the navy carpet.

"The safest place she can be isn't here though, when I think about it," Syo muttered.

Natsuki faltered. "That's true."

"Please don't mind me asking," Haruka spoke, "but what – well, why are you helping me? What about me makes you think that helping me will help you?"

Natsuki laughed a bit, smiling. "It's not about helping ourselves, Haru-chan. We're just putting our faith that you're the Alice we've been waiting for."

Hearing this, Haruka's expression shifted. "I… I don't know what you mean."

"We don't expect you to," Syo said. "Just – just about all Alice Outsiders were the same: dumb, helpless, too curious, just downright mad. They all had blonde-ish hair and seemingly innocent eyes, but they're all wolves. Wolves in sheep's skin."

She looked down; Natsuki got distracted by her flattering ginger lashes. "B-But!" he stammered out. "You're not like them! For starters, you are a lovely ginger with sweet honey eyes. And you don't allow things to happen out of curiosity."

"What he means is that you have morals," Syo clarified. He stood before her, and again Haruka noticed that they were eye-level. She most definitely had to crane her neck quite a bit to make eye contact with Natsuki with his generous height.

"And she looks different, with no English background from what I can tell," said Natsuki, bending his hip to lean forward, gazing at Haruka's flustered expression. "Hm. You know, if you get out of that default Alice dress, and we get you something else to wear, then I believe that we can transform you into a servant here."

Syo shook his head quickly, his face contorting into something along embarrassed and agitated. "No, no. We can't it – it just won't _work_. Nanami's appearance looks too… too _unique_."

Haruka blinked. _Unique? _She wondered if they really thought of her that way. Well, she wasn't unfamiliar with putting on a disguise, so with provided materials she could make it work.

She gently pulled at both young men's sleeves. "I think we can do this. We'll need a wig, makeup, and a servant's dress."

* * *

Haruka patted down her maid's skirt. She proceeded to adjust the bandage wrapped around her right shoulder and the brown wig on her head, pulling back any stray, flyaway locks. Her makeup was thick around her eyes, enough not to accentuate her color, rather, changing her face structure completely (she rarely applied to her entire face, and normally just touched up on her faint eyebrows and blended a highlighting concealer on her nose, forehead, chin and upper cheeks). Fake freckles were poked on her facial skin around the bridge of her nose extending to her apple cheeks, and her dress was nearly all-black with navy blue ruffles and stockings with white stripes and an apron. Syo sacrificed some dust to change her shoe color, since he couldn't suspiciously take a specific pair of a shoe size up to his room; the Spades ruler, Jingugi Ren, nearly caught him.

Natsuki forced him to do it. He owed Syo some dust now.

When Haruka stepped out of the door, Natsuki and Syo were frozen for longer than any of them expected. The Spades servant's dress hugged Haruka's figure more than her former dress, and anyone could notice her tiny waist and small but evident bust. Even with a skirt and stockings, her legs somehow seemed even more slender than usual. Perhaps Syo just never paid attention, but Haruka could skyrocket her attractiveness if she dressed like that normally.

As for Natsuki, he swooned at how _cute_ she looked. Syo found it sexy, almost disturbingly so, as her transformation went from innocent to…

"I can't even recognize you," said Syo in a trance. He caught himself and cleared his throat, "Well, um, I guess that's a good thing though."

"Really?" Haruka tugged at the sash tied around her waist, fixing the bow it created in the back. She touched her wig. "You don't think I overdid it?"

Natsuki shook her head. "Not at all! Though, you have amazing skills Haru-chan."

"Oh, no, I – my brother and I wore disguises before in order to survive. When we came to America, my brother continued to wear disguises by cross-dressing, so he knows a lot about makeup and taught me some."

"Disguises?" repeated Syo. It didn't settle right with him. It suddenly occurred to him once again that Haruka didn't have to be who she said she was, and maybe wasn't who she seemed to be.

Haruka nodded. "Yeah, but I tend to be bad at disguises. It's like trying to be an actor – the appearance only takes you so far. It's very hard to lie and act for me, you see, so I hardly talked to anyone other than my brother most of the time when I was young. He mostly talked. The most I could do was pretend to be mute."

"Really?" Natsuki asked.

"Even now, I feel my nerves overreacting a bit," Haruka admitted, placing a hand on her heart. "But I can tough through it and try not to speak too much."

"Good. By night, I can get you somewhere safer," Syo said. He caught himself following the long ringlets of her wig cascading down her shoulder to her stomach in front, her lower back behind her. She really didn't look like her; the only traces of the Nanami Haruka he knew were her eyes. They had no contacts around, so there was nothing he could do about them.

Natsuki took Haruka's wrist and the three walked out the door from Syo's room.

"Lay low," Syo strongly urged. "Don't speak to the other servants as much as possible for your safety. 'Kay?"

"Okay…" Haruka took a deep breath and exhaled shakily.

Natsuki lifted up his fingers, counting. "Three, four, five… Haru-chan," he turned to her, "the superior servants have main cards that go up to ten. Our sixth card died recently, so you can pretend to take her place."

"I don't…"

Syo groaned. "Sorry, but we can't explain everything to you right now. We need to get back to the meeting."

* * *

_I'm sorry._

"Syo-kun… Shinomiya-san…"

The young man covering her hand gave a light, airy chuckle. "You're an Alice, aren't you? Cute getup. You just forgot to cover your scent. I smell…" He grabbed at her neck hairs, pulling it down forcing her to look up. She was met with intense, blue orbs for eyes. He pushed his face into her brunette fake hair, lining his nose with her ear and whispered, "I smell something faint. Like – sugar? Sweet honey. There's also this sensation of – oh, what is it – oh right. You have the distinct smell of an infamous Alice. How – how—"

He yanked her hair harder, the wig falling to the cold floor. His brows knit, but his lips slowly played a smirk. "How unfortunately disgusting. But I admit, you surprise me."

"Who… are you…" Haruka's throat felt constricted, as if his voice alone strangled her.

"Who am I?" He released her and spun her to face him. The corridor was desolate and dim, and yet her focus was clear on his flirtatious expression. "Why, I'm The Mad Hatter. Or as the little lamb should know, Jingugi Ren."

Her eyes widened.

"'To thine own self to be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst then be false to any man.' Surely you know where that's from. Alice Outsiders are fond of books. Am I wrong this time?"

She couldn't speak.

His eyes narrowed to the point where the blue intensified. "Shakespeare, little lamb," he answered for her. "So, 'to be or not to be.' Who do you claim to be, Alice? Why are you dressed like that? Ashamed, perhaps? Buying time to try and escape?"

"I – I tried to listen to S-S—" she cut herself off, intending to protect Syo and Natsuki. Well, it didn't help that she called for them not even two minutes ago.

An eyebrow quirked. "Oh? I can't quite hear you?"

"Let me go."

Haruka jabbed her elbow onto Ren's rib, covered by the suit he wore. His head jerked down, his hands flying to his side. She was released for a split second, but that was enough for her to flee, wig be damned.

Ren glanced up at her fleeting figure, wildly and helplessly intrigued.

* * *

Shinomiya Natsuki ~ The March Hare

Jingugi Ren ~ The Mad Hatter


	6. I Have Great Faith in Fools

**Originally Posted on: August 17, 2016**

**Author's Note: I was going to update this on August 15 in honor of the Mekakushi Dan and my precious children in Kagerou Days. But ohwells. I was and am _unbelievably busy_.  
**

**So, as I planned, I will be updating once every other month (or possibly two months). I know, the wait will be really hard then, but I'll put recaps so no problem, right? Haha. Ha.**

**Fun Fact****: Shakespeare invented the words "critical" and "majestic." I think you'll find both of those words in this chapter!**

* * *

_Previously:_

H_e realized why the casts all had Japanese names this generation; it was all because of Haruka. Then he wondered if The Dealer and The Raven both had changed their names as well. Was he really that inexperienced with an Alice or was this Alice the Alice?_

_Syo growled, his grip whitening his fist. "I avoided every Alice in my lifetime as much as I could until fate led me to you. I'm convinced that you're not like the other Alice-s before, now, but these people will judge you on the spot 'less there be a dire situation you can save them in like me."_

_..._

_"I have a J-Japanese name. It's Nanami Haruka."_

_Syo blinked, jaw dropped, and scarcely let out, "N-Nanami it is then—"_

_"_Haru-chan it is then!_"_

_..._

_"Please don't mind me asking," Haruka spoke, "but what – well, why are you helping me? What about me makes you think that helping me will help you?"_

_Natsuki laughed a bit, smiling. "It's not about helping ourselves, Haru-chan. We're just putting our faith that you're the Alice we've been waiting for."_

_Ren glanced up at her fleeting figure, wildly and helplessly intrigued._

* * *

V

I Have Great Faith in Fools

"There is nothing to writing," The Raven quoted rather dryly. "All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

The Dealer faced the man of midnight feathers and harrumphed. "I believe all you should say is Poe, not Hemingway."

"Either one, I'll suicide the same. Or perhaps, something untimely and mysterious."

"Unsuitable," he drawled in his slurred manner. The Dealer hardly cared for The Raven, and the irony there was that they were partners yet harbored bad blood between each other. Well, neither particularly liked their job.

"Well then, I shall comply with this: 'I became _insane_, with long intervals of sanity.'"

"Quaint! Absolutely beautifully said! Oh, never mind. Your face sickens me so much it strips my satisfaction. Oh ho."

The Raven bristled. "Santa Claus," he retorted hotly.

"Dear father, if you would _so_ delight me as to acknowledge my entrance!"

The Raven turned, irritated, and stood from his chair, dragging his feet to the door. The Dealer disappeared to the room no one else has seen nor been in, entertaining himself with a colorful cube.

"What is it, Eiichi?"

The Joker burst out, "An Alice is roaming once again around here! An _Alice_. The name brings this pure disgust in me that must be eliminated at once!" Crossing his arms, his head and eyes gestured to the book on the desk behind Raging Ootori. "You quite frankly have the powers to write this stupid Alice's fate. Kill her off like the others and make it snappy."

"Since when did my son boss me around?" The Raven bit. "I cannot do a thing but write what The Dealer tells me to write. And before you say it, I cannot make him do a thing. Stubborn old man he is and always will be."

"Eiichi" bunched up his lips. "Then my time here is a waste," he bluntly said, running a hand through his brown, unruly locks. "I must find that emotionless robot then. Who would've known that he'd be a cast, for god's sake."

All Mikaze Ai heard from the Joker was this: "Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before."

* * *

If you need some text in this story explaining the difficult matters to comprehend, here is what's revealed thus far.

One, Nanami Haruka is an Alice. Surely, you know that. But to be an Alice in the world of UtaPri is a deadly misfortune, as it puts her as the "player" of a Game. Why is this an issue? The Game is a matter of life and death, and Haruka, frankly put, can either win or die.

Death in Wonderland is a strange thing, as Haruka would simply return to her world with no memories of anything, including her memories before she entered the Game. It's a sad thing.

Servants bear hatred towards Alice Outsiders, but cannot do a thing about it unless they manage to get the aid of a cast. Casts are figures that don't give out their trust on a silver platter, so winning them over is part of the mini-game servants have created. The most prominent cast that can kill servants off as part of the rules is the Queen of Hearts, and she does so with pleasure. Paradoxically, the White King, who is only capable of healing and having Diamond servants serve him, is cold as ice and is difficult to melt his trust.

Casts second to the domain ruler, which are usually knights and second-in-commands like The March Hare and The Knight of Hearts, obey the orders of their superior but have authority of their own as well. The Game stresses that casts are indeed important, and are not considered "servants," unless seen from the Constellation; The Dealer and The Raven dwell in the Constellation, and are the ultimate superiors.

There is usually a third and/or fourth cast, who resides in the domain but may choose to partake in the ruler's endeavors or not. The Dormouse, for example, often avoids the activity of the Spades House; in contrast, The White Rabbit is active in his roles in his domain.

Where is Mikado Nagi, you ask? He will appear hopefully soon.

Every Alice has blonde hair and blue eyes— doesn't matter if it's short, long, bold, or faint. They all spoke in the same manner—curious, outspoken, thinks-to-self-aloud. They moved the same— carelessly, with no sensitiveness, with no awareness.

But then there's Haruka.

Haruka is an Alice most definitely, but she isn't quite at the same time. Nagi can only choose who The Dealer allows, and upon finding Haruka, he grew excited. She seemed a bit different, somehow, and it wasn't just appearance-wise. Though… it probably was.

She just— _felt_ different.

Syo always felt compelled to help her every time he looked her in the eyes. It was almost hypnotizing, but she seemed so pure beyond him.

Natsuki naturally liked cute things in the purest way possible, and would side with anything and anyone Syo sided with.

Ren thought she might just be a lost, little lamb, with no pretenses.

Now, this is why Alice Outsiders are hated, and sometimes feared, though it's somewhat uneasy to explain. The shallow end says that Alice-s bring jealousy to servants, becoming somehow pompous and tactless. The Dealer doesn't really say what Alice is supposed to do or how she's supposed to win the Game, and the other power roles, along with the servants and the rest of the cast, simply must follow their role. Eventually, many got fed up with the Game and began to rebel. In return, The Dealer purposely made the biggest mistake in most people's eyes: he brought in stereotypical "Alice," the Alice everyone in UtaPri has come to believe they all were. Each Alice after the first one was much too alike like the previous one, almost like a cardboard cutout.

Thus, that is why Nanami Haruka is having a bad time. And yet, she is a _very _lucky ginger.

* * *

"I trust you take her, Kira," Syo said, pushing Haruka to The Dodo hastily. "I know you're at least neutral along with Hyuga-sensei, and you're going to the Diamond Mansion anyways."

He silently gazed at Haruka. Being around animals often, he didn't know how to speak to other people, much less an Alice. With a nod, he took Haruka softly by the sleeve and the two headed on. Haruka took several glances back at Syo, who looked more sick than she'd ever seen him. She knew she'd just gotten him in huge trouble, and it of course didn't settle right with her.

But nothing good would come out of staying there for the both of them, she reminded herself.

For the meantime, Haruka decided to take in Kira's appearance, which apparently wasn't a good decision because it caused an awkward silence. He sported a gray vest, with chains of feathers along his body—on his necklace, his fallen overall straps, and on his anklet—his hair parted to the right in dark, clumped layers. It flew free, almost wildly so, and his eyes were a striking yellow, like a cat's. The dark lashes and blessed height only amplified his mysterious physique, this coming from a short, fair-haired young woman.

When Haruka thought about it, she'd only met men in Wonderland. And when she thought about it more, they were all young, maybe around thirteen to twenty-four at most. She shouldn't be one to judge, as appearances were capable of deceiving age very well, but she was sure that they were young.

"Um…" Haruka stopped, clamping her mouth with a hand. Kira, three steps ahead of her, halted and rotated, giving her a questioning look. She glanced at him, blushing, obviously not intending to speak.

He motioned to continue walking. She gave a meek nod, and they walked some more.

"K-Kira… right?"

Might as well speak.

He nodded. "Sumeragi Kira."

His voice was velvety, quiet, but sudden. Deep, but not quite like Ren's, as it was much less… playboy-ish.

"Well then, Sumeragi-san," Haruka began, walking alongside him, "I do hope you're okay with helping me… I mean, I'm aware you're going to the Diamond Mansion anyway, but you're willing to be with an Alice. Though, I just don't quite understand. Did I do something wrong? Did the Alice-s before me do something wrong?"

She didn't get an answer. She secretly didn't expect any, but she still held onto false hopes.

Haruka cleared her throat lightly, feeling it grow thick. "I can't get killed here, can I? I feel like my brother is worried sick of me and— oh no. Nii-san must be dying right now! He cares for me a lot, I— I _have_ to— _how_ do I get— I—!"

It was a very sudden, crushing, shocking realization. What was she doing, dressing up and following strangers, telling them her life story and asking the stupidest questions? She felt like she could practically die in a hole, but ironically that wasn't the case. The people in her world were probably on a search investigation for her, and Ringo was probably blaming himself for everything and breaking down. What was she going to do?

It was expected. The tears felt hot and like waterfalls falling from the sun, but there wasn't a rainbow. One look and Kira instantly paled, unsure of what to do. He opened his mouth, wanting to voice some concern and such, but the words refused to form in his head. Even if it did, that was half the process, as his mouth never really worked with him either when it came to humans.

It was ridiculous. Kira mentally tugged at his hair now, wondering why in Wonderland was the Alice in front of him crying and what she wanted him to do about it. Was this the selfishness he'd heard from people who've met a previous Alice? It just seemed nothing less of abrupt and alarming to him.

A hand flew to Haruka's face, as she began to furiously rub at the gunk of makeup on her face. It began to transform, as the liquid foundation, concealer, and powder was wiped on her Spades servant dress, her brows becoming less apparent and more ginger, and her eyes becoming like a raccoon's.

"I look ugly, don't I?" Haruka tittered, though it sounded like she was choking.

Kira quickly snapped open the latch on his bag and handed her a handkerchief, shaking his head. She thanked him, and promised to wash it for him and return it.

Haruka was still crying while they still walked, with Kira holding her hand soundlessly, but she never was wailing audibly. The most sound she made from time to time was her sniffling, and Kira didn't want to take back his handkerchief afterward.

Kira searched around, his eyes darting left and right, for a well. When he found one, he pulled her aside to help her wash her face and the cloth in her hand. When she was free of makeup, in all honesty, she was radiantly beautiful. He didn't know why she had to draw on fake freckles because her real ones were very faint and cute, as if God barely sprinkled it on her face. Her lashes were long and like chocolate-covered strawberries from the slight stains of mascara, and they curled a bit upwards, accentuating her unique eyes.

Scratch that, he didn't know why she was a ginger who thought she had to wear makeup in itself.

Alice Outsiders, for one thing, weren't gingers. This was the first one. Secondly, Haruka's name was Japanese, like the casts. And third, no Alice wore makeup. And yet, she was confirmed an Alice by Syo. And better yet, Kira wasn't as disgusted as he thought. In fact, he was attracted to her, in a way like how a small bird attracted him.

Something must've stirred in him, but it was probably the madness inside every cast and pawn.

When she was done drying her face, he took her hand and began running. Unable to keep up the pace, Haruka tripped, but she was only swept off her feet as Kira hoisted her up into his arms. His hands gripped tightly but snugly on her right sleeve and legs, as his bridal-style rendered Haruka speechless. But slightly afraid of being dropped, she grabbed onto his vest.

"W-Where are we going!"

Ten minutes passed, and Haruka was long done with her squeals before the two stood at the gates of the Diamond Mansion. It was purely white, the place looking like crystals threw up on snow and it rained quartzes and diamonds.

If the Spades House seemed untouchable, Haruka wasn't sure if she should step foot in any domain.

Kira carefully put her down, as if she was a delicate object. His gentlemanly manners nearly made Haruka fall in love with him on the spot, but it frankly wasn't too hard for her to hold herself back.

"T-Thank you, Sumeragi-san." Haruka's heart was beating out of her chest, the thrill of being lifted off her feet and carried somewhere not quite left from her blood. It's just never happened to her before… or has it…

He nodded, and took her hand once more, moving her to a large tree with a thick trunk. "Change," he said, lifting his head and whistling loudly. Birds came fluttering to the scene, carrying a white dress and boots. The dress was fluffy with light gray ruffles inside to bring volume to the dress, falling down short above Haruka's knees. The sleeves stopped at mid-arm, the hems stitched with pale gray ruffles as well. The entire dress had an intricate design of white, glittery swirls, shimmering breathtakingly in the light, and the shoes matched with equal stunning sequins and charm.

It looked like a million bucks.

"I— I can't wear this! I'll just ruin it!" Haruka squeaked.

He shook his head, taking the dress from the birds and pushing it to her. "Cinderella," he said, bowing his head and stepping out from the tree for her privacy. Haruka, bewildered, took a long look at the dress and anxiously scanned the area, red-faced and zipping the side of the servant's dress.

When she put it on, it was surprisingly snug. It wasn't quite as tight as the maid's dress, but Haruka didn't favor tight clothes anyway. The shoes were a bit small though, and Haruka just knew that it would give her cramps if she wore it for too long. However, she was the kind who didn't voice out something given to her like that. She didn't complain.

Instead, she kept the shoes she wore already.

Stepping out from the tree, Kira looked over and nodded approvingly; Haruka noticed the white outfit he threw on as well, from vest to feathers. When he took notice of her shoes, he then shook his head rapidly and pointedly bore holes into the white boots in Haruka's hand.

"Oh, I must wear these?" she asked, holding the boots up. She sighed a little. "Um, they actually d-don't fit."

Well, that didn't actually come out too hard. He nodded understandably, and whistled for the birds once more. Haruka was quite amazed and captivated by his movements, along with the flying creatures. They came in different colors, sizes, wings and beaks, feathers thin and thick, wingspans wide and short. It created a rainbow, with the white mansion behind it only making it more vibrant and evident.

Two more pairs of shoes were placed before her, a size up and a size down. Taking the size 22.5 (JP), she slid it on and zipped the side. She felt like she could easily stain the dress, feeling unworthy of wearing it with her clumsiness. But Kira's expression gave her assurance and confidence.

Walking with the heels made a loud _click_, _click_ that seemed both professional and painfully obvious to Haruka. She was almost embarrassed, that is, to attract attention to herself. She had to always remind herself to "lay low," as Syo called it.

She wore heels on Sundays when she went out with Ringo sometimes, and the heels she was wearing now weren't high or anything, but she was used to wedges. Not stilettos.

Several times Haruka felt like some slut, as she had to hold onto Kira to balance herself and not twist her ankle on the way to the doors. The mansion was much more grand, not quite majestic, but utterly spotless. Haruka didn't regret wearing the boots all of a sudden, as her other shoes would've definitely made marks on the crystal pathway.

Even the grass was white, as if snow could make stains or the rain was actually bleach. Pure madness.

A servant greeted the two, and Kira gestured to Haruka, saying, "She's a special guest." The two were allowed to enter, and the Alice followed The Dodo to a large room, almost like a throne room. Sitting on a white, velvet couch before a cream white table was The White King.

When the servant nearby introduced the two as "The Dodo and Guest," Kira bowed respectively. Haruka, nervous, bowed in a Japanese style, causing the teacup The White King was daintily holding up to his lips pause midair.

"What are you," he brusquely spoke. His voice was icy, booming, and sharp, like thunder and lightning slicing clean through thick air. The voice echoed around the spacious room, as if every corner it touched and the things between them all froze under his intimidating command. Her words must've slipped her throat because Haruka couldn't speak.

He harrumphed. "Surely cat hasn't gotten your tongue recently."

Kira didn't speak much either, even though he wished to clear the misunderstanding. It was hard to tell even for a cast what The White King thought of Alice Outsiders. In a way, he was afraid of speaking the wrong way or the wrong string of words, but at the same time he wasn't. He didn't owe a thing to Haruka, and it was in fact the other way around. There wasn't a reason to be afraid, as no attention has been caught on him; he didn't anticipate it soon anyway, at least, not in the way The White King was leering over the petrified Alice.

"My— ahem, my name is Nanami Haruka," Haruka greeted, giving a composed curtsey. She slapped her act together in the least sloppiest way possible, and scarcely managed a polite smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you—"

"I asked _what_ you are, you fool," he interrupted, "not your name."

"Oh." Having no idea what to respond with, she glanced briefly at the silent Dodo, who in turn raised his arms toward her.

"Alice."

All and no thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. Haruka blanched considerably, her hands feeling numb from the quick coldness coursing through her skin, heat hissing in her blood. It was like she had a cold on the spot. She hadn't the faintest idea of The White King's stance on Alice Outsiders, and pleaded inwardly that he was in the least neutral about them. She held onto the measly hope that he might help her like Syo and Natsuki had.

How… selfish of her. Haruka discarded the thought, trying her best not to become the Alice UtaPri viewed her as, as filthy, as _revolting_ as it seemed. She just had to tough out every situation thrown at her.

"An Alice? Did I hear that correctly?"

Kira nodded. Haruka wanted to disappear.

The White King took a sip of his tea, apparently contemplating. Tapping rhythmically on his lap, clothed in white, he said, "You call me Camus-sama. Who sent you?"

"Syo-kun— _The Dormouse_, Kurusu Syo," Haruka corrected, and added, "Camus-sama."

Camus set his tea down, pinky cushioning the landing of the fine cup. He often indulged in tea with delight, countering its bitter taste with milk and small but many sugar cubes. He relished only the luxuries of premium sweets, with macaroons of pale but vivacious colors and soft, spongy, iced cakes around the table on silver platters.

"So you say you're an Alice, or at least this Dodo bird-man claims so," spoke Camus, as if speaking aloud to himself to fathom what's given. "You appear to be naming yourself Nanami Haruka to blend in."

"Ah, actually—"

"You mustn't speak when I am thinking, and mustn't speak unless I tell you to," Camus interjected tersely, his hand raised, about to touch his temple. Though in Haruka's perspective, it almost seemed as if he was about to slap her foolishness. When he exhaled markedly, he nodded to her. "Speak."

Tentatively, she did. "My real name is Nanami Haruka. Or, um, was. Alice Liddell is what I go by now."

"And why is that?" he questioned, expecting an acceptable, concise answer.

Haruka responded with, "I used to live in Japan, and I moved to America. I— I had the choice to change my name, and my brother chose Alice Liddell."

He hummed in thought, as if tuning his mind on the matter. Camus didn't question about it further to her, however, and spun to Kira. "Is this true?"

His answer was given with a shrug.

"Explain, Alice."

Haruka hesitated, feeling herself getting more and more attention, something Syo warned her about. She swallowed thickly, gathered her thoughts, organized her sentences, and said, "My brother and I moved to America, and we changed our names there. Mikado-san and I fell down a long, vertical tunnel through a hole in the ground, I met Mikaze-san and Syo-kun in the Hall, walked with Syo-kun to the Spades House, and was sent to go with Sumeragi-kun here."

"Elaborate."

Haruka began mentioning the minor details, inwardly reminding herself that this could gain Camus' trust. And luckily, it opened him up to her more. He observed her movements, the way she looked up instead of to the side, the way she recalled events with attention to detail, the way she tucked some hair behind her ear but it always managed to fall back into place when she tilted her head to think. Camus grew tired of sitting for long, and interrupted her to continue her explanation for another time.

With a snap of his gloved, deft fingers, a servant came in. "Get the White Knight, if you would," he ordered her, as she faintly nodded and made her way out of where she emerged from. Glancing at Haruka, Camus stood up, offered a brief handshake, and said, "You may stay for a while if you answer this question."

"Of… of course, Camus-sama."

His eyes narrowed, as he queried, "Why do you think a raven is like a writing desk?"

Haruka blinked, mildly surprised. Thinking for a moment, she pursed her lips, inhaled, and replied, "Because of Edgar Allen Poe."

Kira's feather choker reacted, bristling to soft black lines. Camus' eyes reflected Haruka's, and reverted back to the cold blue it was.

* * *

Sumeragi Kira ~ The Dodo

Camus ~ The White King


End file.
